An interesting comparison of these ultramarathons is made by considering their respective altitude profiles, which are shown below. The data were recorded with a Polar S625X heart rate monitor that I wore during each of the races. The data are plotted as a function of time because the watch is not a GPS and there is no mechanism for measuring position or distance. Since the races are all 100 miles in length, plotting the data versus time also illustrates their relative difficulty.

Click to enlarge

Altitude versus time

Altitude profiles recorded during the 2006 Grand Slam of Ultrarunning.

The races are summarized below:

Data from the 2006 Grand Slam of Ultrarunning

Race

Total time(hh:mm)

Pace(min/mi)

Min altitude(feet)

Max altitude(feet)

Total climb(feet)

Western States

25:46

15:27

990

8,575

16,360

Vermont

23:05

13:51

515

1,835

14,620

Leadville Trail

25:46

16:47

9,920

12,395

15,200

Wasatch Front

32:23

19:25

5,005

10,545

26,140

This of course is an “experiment of one” and your own mileagefinishing times may vary. These races were not especially fast, and the data presented here are fairly “typical” middle-of-the-pack performances. From that standpoint, I hope that these data might be useful for people in preparing for the ‘Slam.